news article

New Form I-9 effective May 1, 2020

April 23, 2020 / By Tracy Rickett, Human Resources Generalist

A new version of the I-9 employment eligibility verification form is available and is mandatory for use effective May 1, 2020. The new form is available here.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) publishes a paper I-9 Form and an electronic, fillable I-9 Form. The new version of the paper form has no changes from the prior version.

The form is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals hired for employment in the United States. All U.S. employers must properly complete the Form I-9 for each person they hire for employment in the U.S., including both citizens and noncitizens. New hires and employers, or their authorized representatives, must complete the form. Employers must retain the completed forms for a designated period and make them available for inspection when called to do so.

Form I-9 Changes

The new edition of the form lists additional countries in the Country of Issuance field in Section 1, among other minor changes visible only when completing the electronic version of the form, including the following:

• Clarification on who can act as an authorized representative of an employer. Employers may designate anyone to be an authorized representative to complete Section 2, but the employer is still liable for any violations committed by the designated person. 
• Clarifications pertaining to acceptable documents. Writing N/A in the identity document columns is no longer necessary. When entering document information in the List A column (or alternatively in the List B and C columns), you will not need to enter "N/A" in the columns which are not being used.
• The new form also clarifies that the form's List C documents establishing employment authorization does not include a worker's Employment Authorization Document (EAD) that contains a photograph. The List C documents include items like a Social Security card and birth certificate, while the EAD (Form I-766) that contains a photograph providing temporary employment authorization to work in the United States is a List A document.

Form I-9 Documents

Within 3 business days of starting work for pay, an employee must present to their employer documentation that establishes identity and employment authorization. For example, if an employee begins employment on Monday, the employee must present documentation on or before Thursday of that week. However, if an employee is hired to work for less than 3 business days, the employee must present documentation no later than the first day of employment. The employee chooses which unexpired document(s) to present to the employer from the Lists of Acceptable Documents. An employer cannot specify which document(s) you may present from the Lists of Acceptable Documents.

Do not file Form I-9 with USCIS or U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Employers must:

• Have a completed Form I-9 on file for each person on their payroll who is required to complete the form;
• Retain and store Forms I-9 for three years after the date of hire, or for one year after employment is terminated, whichever is later; and
• Make their forms available for inspection if requested by authorized U.S. government officials from the Department of Homeland Security, Department of Labor, or Department of Justice.

If you have questions on the new Form I-9, please contact Tracy Rickett, Human Resources Generalist, at (315) 898-2017 or email at tracyrickett@unyumc.org.